I had upper eyelid surgery 8 days ago, and the doctor used dissolvable stitches. How long does it normally take for stitches to dissolve? Is there anything I can do to make them dissolve faster?
Most board certified plastic surgeons will use a permanent suture for the upper eye lid surgery. This suture is removed at day 5-7. The eye lid skin is very thin, and leaving an absorbable suture will create an inflammatory reaction that could make the scar look thicker. Good luck!
There are many different types of dissolvable sutures. I don't know which your doctor used for your eyelids, but If I were to use an absorbable suture on the upper eyelids ... Fast Absorbing has tensile strenght for 5-7 days and is completely dissolved in 2 to 4 weeks. Other absorable sutures which have more tensile strenght but last longer in the skin include Plain, Chromic, Vicryl and Monocryl .
If your doctor used Fast Absorbing Plain sutures, you should expect the sutures to start falling out over the next week. The actual length of time will vary depending on the type, thickness and location of the suture. Gentle cleansing of the skin will facilitate the process.
Most doctors choose the suture material based on the length of time needed to hold the tissue together, the suture tensile strength, the handling and knot security of the suture and the tissue reactivity (which can influence scarring).
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